European stock markets took a dive Monday amid reports that a new lawsuit against the European Stability Mechanism may delay the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the proposed rescue fund. Losses in Asian markets also weighed down indices.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4% and Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.5%. Italian banks saw some gains after the country’s Treasury sold off 8 billion Euros in government debt. Data on Germany’s GDP and the EU’s GDP will be issued later today.

US trades closed slightly lower, after Monday’s light volume investors focused on weak Japanese economic data. The Dow Jones closed down 0.3%, the S&P 500 shed 0.1% and the Nasdaq lost 0.1% by the end of the day.